REACH OUT TO “CHAKA CHAK GOA” CAMPAIGN by Nisser Dias

The day has finally dawned with sincere efforts being made to maintain cleanliness in the state but more importantly to educate our civic-senseless public how to treat their waste and not to chuck it over one’s wall in the neighbour’s compound. The efforts also needs accolade because it is not being undertaken on a piecemeal basis and all over simultaneously.

I can just imagine the enormity of the task given the fact that Goa does have a treatment plant as Goans have stuck to their ‘not in my backyard agenda’ to set up a treatment plant. That is besides government’s failure or rather incompetency to set up a treatment plant anywhere in the state.

The menace of scientific disposal of garbage in Goa has reached gigantic proportion. Leave aside our cities and major town, villages are facing trouble of disposing garbage, the airport at Dabolim is staring at waste being dumped near it thereby endangering human life. Gone are days when pigs were reared to dispose garbage like edible waste, cats were used to clear off fish waste from households. But with the advent of nuclear family concept came in bungalows with manicured lawns with no space for pigs and cats and then came flats and apartments and garbage made its way in open spaces with no scope for disposal.

This increased the demand for plastics where all type of garbage bio degradable as well non-degradable was collected to be dumped in water bodies and by roadside. Today plastic bags have become a bane and citizens simply do not think twice of demanding for plastic bags even for a smallest purchase.

Plastic bags filled with all sorts of garbage line our roads be it the national highway, state highways and even village roads attracting scavengers like rag pickers, stray dogs, cattle and even birds. After emptying the contents of the bags, remains of plastics is carried far and wide with the breeze littering the environment. Plastic bags have clogged our drainage system, sewage lines, storm drains thereby stopping free flow of storm, sewage and gutter water.

Then plastic bags have polluted our water bodies like ponds and lakes. These natural water bodies which is important to the ecology and an asset to the agriculture are being used as dumping grounds for garbage making it redundant for usage. Lack of civic sense among citizens and the need to dispose off daily generated household waste irresponsibly has taken a toll on our water bodies. One can find huge quantity of plastics floating in ponds, lakes and rivers. Every monsoon massive quantity of plastic is thrown back on land from the sea. Till such time as government bring fails to bring about a total ban on plastic this nuisance will continue because of our careless mind-set.

Rivers are also being used to dispose sewage and waste. Off shore casinos discharge their waste in the rivers, barges release oil, styrofoam baskets used to store and transport fish are discarded in the rivers by fish traders. Other disposable items made of the same material and plastic are dumped in the rivers by restaurateurs. Fish vendors, meat stall owners, slaughter waste, vulcanizing kiosks, builders, factory owners discard their waste in water bodies, low lying areas, mangroves, by the roadside and everywhere. Irresponsible disposing of waste in the state should be stopped immediately as it has polluted and contaminated not only our rivers and water bodies but also our wells and today it is the duty of everybody to contribute towards cleaner Goa.

Patricia Pinto is a well known activist and whose credentials and integrity cannot be questioned has taken the lead. Lest we forget she was instrumental in initiating the crusade against draconian Regional Plan 2011 and managed to get it scrapped. Her grit and determination is legendary. Can we forget that she championed against cutting of centuries old trees lining Campal and won the battle against Goa’s most dictatorial and arrogant former chief minister Manohar Parrikar. Is it not paradoxical that the same man is shouting from roof tops of saving our forests?

Patricia has now taken the challenge to clean up Goa and undoubtedly she is going to bring about a change. On the Republic day she managed to attract hundreds of students to clean up certain areas. This is just a beginning but she has taken an initiative and all Goans should reach out and in whatever way give a push to this campaign. This is not an easy task nor is it an overnight job, it is work to clean up somebody’s waste and garbage and it will demand patience, perseverance not only from Patricia but all those involved in the campaign. All those meaning everybody from the housewife to the shops-owner, cigarette smoker to the pan user, from the fish or meat vendor to the buyer, from the restaurateur to the guest.

For a start everybody should curtail use of plastic and put to practice the three ‘R’ – reduce, reuse and recycle. Shop keepers, traders, vendors and others should immediately stop giving away plastic bags like confetti, infact there should be total ban on plastic bags. If this is achieved major part of the garbage will be solved.

Secondly not only Patricia Pinto but everybody should expect no help from the government because successive governments have utterly failed in scientific treatment of garbage generated in the state, though they had everything at their disposal – money, technology, manpower etc. Be it at Sonsoddo or Curca, our ministers have focussed on their commissions – of course which amounts to crores of rupees. Worse still after spending and pocketing exchequers money they have not been able to bring about any change and we are back to square one. It would be not out of place to say that Urban Development minister Joaquim Alemao’s biggest achievement this tenure is reprimand by the High Court and exposure of waste of public money by Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). But Goa’s irony is he continues to be a cabinet minister.

In this circumstances we can expect no help from the government especially the current rudderless government led by chief minister Digambar Kamat. We have to dedicate ourselves in maintaining cleanliness in Goa and in that direction reach out to Patricia Pinto and her campaign ‘Chaka chak Goa’ not only through financial contribution but more importantly being on the field and helping in picking up the garbage by getting your hands dirty despite of wearing hand gloves.